WE HAVE AN UPDATE TONIGHT ON AN EXCLUSIVE STORY NEWS FOUR'S TIM WALLER FIRST BROUGHT YOU LAST MONTH. YOU MAY REMEMBER JESSE... THE YOUNG MAN WHO WAS FORCED TO LIVE IN THE E-R OF GREENVILLE MEMORIAL FOR NINE MONTHS. TIM'S INVESTIGATION HELPED GET JESSE OUT OF THE E-R.. AND TIM.. YOU'VE NOW UNCOVERED THAT JESSE WAS IN A GROUP HOME BEFORE ... AND THAT HE WAS NOT THE FIRST ONE TO BE KICKED OUT. THAT'S RIGHT, NIGEL AND GABRIELLE... AND THE HOME WASN'T FAR FROM GREENVILLE MEMORIAL'S E-R.. WHICH BECAME HIS NEW HOME. SHERMAN RESIDENTIAL CARE IS WHERE JESSE HAD BEEN LIVING.... A PLACE THAT'S HAD OTHER COMPLAINTS OF GIVING PATIENTS THE BOOT. WHEN WE FIRST MET JESSE.. A 21 YEAR OLD PATIENT WITH SCHIZOPHRENIA AND INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES... ... E-R PHYSICIAN TERESSA OLDSON WAS IN A BATTLE WITH TWO STATE AGENCIES.. FOR FAILING TO FIND JESSE A HOME. "I think the taxpayers should hold these agencies accountable." BUT HOW JESSE CAME TO LIVE IN THE E-R IN THE FIRST PLACE WAS ALSO A CONCERN. DR. OLDSON TOLD US.. HE SIMPLY SHOWED UP ONE DAY... FROM MISS SHERMAN'S GROUP HOME IN GREENVILLE. "And for some reason he was kicked out of there and has been in the emergency room ever since." AND IT WAS MORE THAN THAT. OLDSON CLAIMED JESSE WASN'T THE FIRST PATIENT FROM SHERMAN RESIDENTIAL CARE TO SUDDENLY SHOW UP IN THE HOSPITAL E-R. "Other residents from Sherman's group home came." Tim: "Why did they...?" "You tell me. They just started showing up around Easter. And with nothing that was emergent. And I called out there to see, 'Hey, I got this patient here and another patient here. Tell me, why did you send them? What was the emergency? What can we do?'" NEWS 4 HAS LEARNED THAT AROUND EASTER.. THE STATE HEALTH DEPARTMENT RECEIVED A COMPLAINT THAT A PATIENT FROM SHERMAN RESIDENTIAL CARE HAD BEEN LEFT AT THE E-R. THE COMPLAINT ALLEGED THE PATIENT WAS "INAPPROPRIATELY DISCHARGED FROM THE FACILITY" .. WITHOUT A 30 DAY NOTICE.. AND TAKEN TO GREENVILLE MEMORIAL HOSPITAL. WE DECIDED IT WAS TIME TO PAY A VISIT TO THE HOME WHERE JESSE USED TO LIVE. "Is Miss Sherman here? Can we speak to her please?" THIS IS WHEN MET OLISE SHERMAN.. THE ADMINISTRATOR OF SHERMAN RESIDENTIAL CARE. Tim: "Hey Miss Sherman, how are you?" "I'm fine." WE TOLD SHERMAN THERE HAD BEEN COMPLAINTS THAT SOME OF HER PATIENTS WERE BEING DROPPED AT THE E-R. "I don't do that. I don't take them down there and drop off. I wouldn't do that. That's not the way you do it." WE ASKED ABOUT THE PATIENT THAT WAS PUT OUT AROUND EASTER.. THAT DR. OLDSON MENTIONED.. THE ONE THAT RESULTED IN A DHEC INVESTIGATION. "I won't talk about the other people that left. I can't say what they left for." BUT RECORDS OBTAINED UNDER THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT.. SHOW THE PATIENT HAD BEEN WRITTEN UP FOR PROFANITY AND THREATENING STAFF MEMBERS... ...AND WAS "DISCHARGED TO GREENVILLE MEMORIAL" BECAUSE SHERMAN "WAS UNABLE TO FIND OTHER PLACEMENT FOR THE RESIDENT." THEN.. WE ASKED HER ABOUT JESSE... AND HOW HE CAME TO LIVE IN THE E-R. SHERMAN INSISTED SHE DIDN'T TAKE HIM THERE.. BUT RATHER.. POLICE DID. "He was very violent one day and the police came here to pick him up and they took him down there." POLICE CONFIRM ON OCTOBER 3RD... THE DAY JESSE SHOWED UP THE E-R... THEY RESPONDED TO A FIGHT A MISS SHERMAN'S GROUP HOME.. AND THAT E-M-S WAS CALLED TO TRANSPORT A MENTAL PATIENT. "They handcuffed him because he was pretty violent." SHERMAN SAYS THIS IS A PEACEFUL GROUP HOME.. AND THAT JESSE WAS TERRORIZING OTHER RESIDENTS.. INCLUDING THIS WOMAN. "Jesse, he had a stick." "and he liked to hit Evelyn in the back of the head." "I was afraid of him, that he might hit me." SHERMAN SAYS THE PERSON WHO BROUGHT JESSE HERE NEVER MENTIONED HE WAS VIOLENT.. AND IF THEY HAD, SHE WOULDN'T HAVE LET HIM LIVE HERE. BUT OFFICIALS AT WATCHDOG AGENCY PROTECTION AND ADVOCACY SAY BEHAVIORS LIKE THAT ARE ALWAYS DISCLOSED. "You're required as an administrator and as an owner-operator to get records of the individual during admission and to build a file, and if she didn't do that, that's on her." SHERMAN SAYS SHE OFTEN THINKS ABOUT JESSE.. AND OTHER PATIENTS WHO DIDN'T WORK OUT. BUT SHE INSISTS.. SHE DOESN'T LEAVE ANYONE AT THE E-R.. AND SAYS IF ANYTHING.. SHE TRIES HER BEST TO KEEP THEM. "Because I try to hang on to them. Everybody that knows me, they know I do. I would never just take them and dump them out." JESSE ASIDE.. PEOPLE WITH MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES.. WINDING UP IN THE EMERGENCY ROOMS OF HOSPITALS.. IS NOW A HUGE PROBLEM NATIONWIDE. ANMED HEALTH HAD A MENTAL PATIENT STAY IN THEIR EMERGENCY ROOM FOR 38 DAYS. G-H-S.. WHERE JESSE STAYED.. HAD MORE THAN A THOUSAND OTHER MENTAL HEALTH PATIENTS LAST YEAR.. SHOW UP IN THE E-R... WITH STAYS LASTING MORE THAN 24 HOURS.. RACKING UP CHARGES OF 4-POINT-2 MILLION DOLLARS. AND OF COURSE, AFTER YOUR FIRST STORY, JESSE WAS PLACED IN A NEW HOME. IS THERE AN UPDATE ON HOW HE'S DOING? HE IS DOING FINE, FROM WHAT I'VE BEEN TOLD. HE'S IN A GROUP HOME IN COLUMBIA AREA.. AND IS FITTING IN WELL WITH STAFF AND OTHER PATIENTS. I AM ALSO TOLD HE LIVES IN A ROOM THAT HAS THREE VERY LARGE WINDOWS.. WHICH HE LOVES.. BECAUSE IT'S BETTER THAN HAVING NO WINDOWS IN THE E-R.

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